What's in your kitchen? Fresh, frozen or processed, April 21

 Refrigerator

• Yellow pepper
• Red pepper
• Red leaf lettuce
• Baby spinach
• Green beans
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Peas, frozen
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Cantaloupe
• Pineapple
• Blue berries
• Strawberries
• Red grapes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Oranges
• Cheese, cheddar, American, Parmesan, Cream
• Whole Milk
• Half and Half creamer
• Eggs, fresh and hard cooked
• Butter
• Orange juice
• Apple cider
• Pork loin
• Ham
• Hamburger
• Bacon
• Sausage
• Salmon
• Condiments
• Frozen tater tots
• Ice cream cups, vanilla
• Frozen biscuits
• Homemade sandwiches, meat and cheese on buns
• Chocolate cookies, bakery

Cupboards

• Bananas
• Sweet Potatoes
• Russet Potatoes
• Pretzels
• Soda crackers
• Walnuts
• Rice brown, pasta
• Canned soups, various
• Canned beans, corn, peas
• Canned fruit pieces, various
• Fruit juices, single serving
• Cake mixes, various
• Cheerios
• Oatmeal
• Oat Bran
• Raisins
• Tea bags
• Tea, herbal
• Coffee, decaf
• baking supplies, spices, condiments
• Olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Vinegar
• Cocoa, dark 100% Cacao
• Honey, local

Your mom was right—eat all the colors, and a lot of them

Research shows Mom was right. Eat all the colors. This is a meta-analysis. Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality: Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies of US Men and Women and a Meta-Analysis of 26 Cohort Studies (ahajournals.org)  Free, original research article. Print it and read between the food commercials on TV.

• A higher intake of fruit and vegetables was associated with lower total and cause-specific mortality in a nonlinear manner in both an original data analysis in 2 prospective cohorts of US men and women and a meta-analysis of 26 prospective cohort studies.
• The lowest risk of mortality was observed for ≈5 servings per day of fruit and vegetable intake, but above that level the risk did not decrease further.
• The thresholds of risk reduction in mortality were 2 servings daily for fruit intake and 3 servings daily for vegetable intake

My favorite vegetables, peas, corn and potatoes, are not associated with lower mortality. Too starchy. Darn. It's just hard to eat this much of anything.

Despite recommendations in dietary guidelines for decades to increase fruit and vegetable intake, the current average intake among US adults is 1 serving of fruit and 1.5 servings of vegetables per day. Not good. There have been many campaigns (cited in the article) to change this because poor nutrition contributes to the burden of disease and premature death.

BTW, this is a premiere, peer reviewed journal. When I was a librarian, Circulation and its many numbered series, was the bane of my existence.

Nutrition and mathemagic

Here's an excellent example of using nutrition fake research to influence politics--in this case, Brexit. http://healthproblemsnews.com/health-news/higher-fruit-and-veg-prices-after-brexit-could-kill-5600-people/ Grocery bills could go up $3/week, thus killing possibly 12,000 people in the UK (highest estimate). Really? You mean someone might not be able to go to Starbucks in order to buy 3 apples and a bag of carrots? Do you know how many Brits spend their winters in Spain? It's a short flight. Gorgeous grocery stores there. I try to rely on good, peer reviewed sources, but BMJ (British Medical Journal, https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/1/e026966)  failed us here with mathemagic.

Speaking of Spain, I saved $500 in less than a year by giving up my morning coffee at Panera’s in 2015; I saved another $500 by discontinuing coloring my hair. I saved $200 by changing credit cards (got one that gives cash back). Helped pay for our 2015 trip to Spain.  And yes, their grocery store produce is better than any I’ve seen in the U.S. and the airports are packed with retired Brits coming and going.

Delicious broths and drinks

My set of Revere Ware is about 54 years old--I know it wasn't a wedding gift, so I'm guessing the age. But it wasn't until about 10 years ago I actually used the stainless steel steamer insert which fits 2 of the sauce pans. Oh my--the joys I missed all those years. Lately I've been making various "broth" drinks. Sometimes I use just one chicken thigh (bone and skin included) and have delicious chicken broth; sometimes I use up some tired old vegetables like limp green beans or carrots, or a frozen vegetable past its prime. I used up half a cuke and tossed in some onions, and it was marvelous chilled. But lately I've been trying it with fruit. Yesterday I threw in a small handful of red grapes, and had a delicious drink, but decided to taste the grapes before tossing them, and they were fabulous. Apples and oranges don't work well, but cranberries, blueberries and strawberries make a great drink as an alternative to coffee or tea. 

Also, if you need a "fast" after having pizza and chocolate pie for dinner, this is a good solution for the next day, like today.

Eat all the colors

            
87% of Americans don't meet recommendations for fruit consumption, and 91% don't meet recommendations for vegetable consumption, according to a new U.S. report published by MMWR. If you're brown bagging, tuck in some carrot sticks and slices of apple. You can even eat vegetables for breakfast. There's just nothing more yummy than a sweet potato, hot with a little butter and salt, in my opinion. Filling, too. When you're my age, you'll be glad you protected the body God gave you with good food and exercise.
 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6426a1.htm?s_cid=mm6426a1_w

So for breakfast today I'm having a "shake" made of banana, blueberries, cranberries, carrots, and orange juice. Remember that blue and orange makes grey, which can be unappetizing, so balance it with some red (the cranberries) to get a beautiful, rich purple.  I cooked the carrots and cranberries first, otherwise the shake would be too difficult to eat.  Four fruits and one vegetable in one delicious drink.

In his Whole Foods Newsletter today, George Mateljan writes: "If your New Year's resolution is to lose those extra pounds eating more vegetables is essential to get the nutrients you need combined with the reduction in calorie intake necessary for healthy weight loss. No other food group can do this for you. I recommend including from 5-9 servings of vegetables each day and making sure you include a variety of vegetables with a wide spectrum of colors. [Just like Mother said.] The colors reflect the special health-promoting phytonutrients found in vegetables. And this does not have to be difficult to achieve. One serving of raw leafy greens such as lettuce is 2 cups but a typical salad meal would typically contain about 3-4 cups usually accompanied by other vegetables as well. One salad meal could easily constitute half of your recommended vegetable intake for the day! And a serving of cooked leafy greens is only half of a cup."

87 percent of Americans don't meet recommendations for fruit consumption, and 91 percent don't meet recommendations for vegetable consumption, according to a new U.S. report.

 How to eat all the colors--a guide

Grapes are “the berries”

• Stilbenes
  • resveratrol
  • piceatannol
  • pterostilbene
• Flavanols
  • catechins
  • epicatechins
  • procyanidins
  • proanthocyanidins
  • viniferones
• Flavonols
  • quercetin
  • kaempferol
  • myricetin
  • isorhamnetin
• Phenolic Acids
  • caffeic acid
  • coumaric acid
  • ferulic acid
  • gallic acid
• Carotenoids
  • beta-carotene
  • lutein
  • zeaxanthin

In addition to the above-listed nutrients, grapes have also been shown to contain the hormone and antioxidant melatonin as well as unique oligopeptides (small protein-like molecules) that have anti-bacterial and other properties.

From WHFoods Weekly which has more information on these delicious, healthy treats.  I love August and September when I can get California grapes.  I love to mix them in green salads with sliced onion.  Yum.

Cauliflower Soup, my recipe

In an effort to add more vegetables to our diet (above 5-6), yesterday I made this delicious soup and there's not a drop left! Amounts are guesses the way our grandmothers did it.

Half a quart of chicken broth/vegetable broth (I had both on hand so mixed them)
Half a head of cauliflower (could be more or less, but it's what I had)
About 1/4 cup of chopped onion (could be more)
One large white potato cut into pieces (this is for thickening the soup, so don't use red unless you want runny soup), but it also serves, in my mind, as a vegetable.

Tender cook this and run through a blender. Add some Half n half. Again, I eye-balled this.

Because cauliflower is rather bland, I added just a smidgen of hot mustard, and I think that's what did it. Not enough to taste it, but it did give it some zip.

It was a cool, spring day, so it was just perfect. My side dish was sliced cucumbers and big giant strawberries, so that was 5 fruits/veggies for one meal.

Most of the recipes I scanned add cheese, but that's just more calories and this was very hardy and delicious without it.

A tasty breakfast drink and an easy lunch

The last two days I decided I’d try for my fruits at breakfast.  Usually I have either an apple or an orange, and maybe nuts. But this was really good.

In a blender:

One small banana
Two really large strawberries (or several small)
One slice of fresh pineapple
Frozen blueberries (not sure, maybe 1/3 cup)
¼ cup of orange juice
Some orange peel (cooked and sugared)
About two tablespoons of almond meal

This made about 2 1/4 cups of a very pretty purple drink (red and blue make purple) with some texture. Really good. I have no idea what the nutritional value is.

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Pierogies are pasta filled with whipped potatoes, and this product includes spinach and feta.  Some ethic groups like to make these, but I think it looks like a lot of work. I drop 3 in boiling water for about 7 minutes, and about 3 minutes in drop in some fresh baby spinach.  Makes a great lunch. This package costs about $2.00.

Mott’s Medleys Peach Apple fruit & veggie snack

Notice anything? No peaches on the ingredient list. So I checked the cherry berry fruit and veggie snack. . . no cherries or berries on the ingredient list.

“Kids will love the delicious taste of these fruit blends but won't taste the hidden veggies. Mott's Medleys fruit snacks are fat free. In fact, they're only made with real fruits and veggies and even have plenty of Vitamin C to boot. Plus, they contain no artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners or preservatives. What a treat.” Mott’s web site.

They won’t taste the vegetables, and they won’t taste the berries or peaches, either.

Fruits and Vegetables—five servings a day

“Dietary guidelines of 5 servings per day of fruits and vegetables (FV) offer a reasonable amount of vitamins to control organic processes, which may contribute to a favorable cardiometabolic profile.”

It seems I’ve heard that recommendation most of my life—that and “eat all the colors.”  So I tested myself this morning on yesterday’s meals—because that’s about as far back as I can remember.

Breakfast:  one orange, a handful of raw carrots and almonds (2)

Lunch: a sandwich on whole wheat bread with sliced ham and cheese, included a few slices of onion, and some dark leaf lettuce (it’s stretching the definition to call this two servings—more like 2 tastes)

I had a few pieces of dark chocolate left from Valentine’s Day, but chocolate is not a vegetable. Slice of raw cabbage. (1)

Supper: 2 helpings of butternut squash, “unstuffed cabbage” casserole containing tomatoes, cabbage and ground beef, cream pie with crushed pineapple  (5)

So, it’s not difficult, even with eliminating the poor showing at lunch, I had eight servings of fruits and vegetables combined, but for each 5  vegetable, and 3 for fruit. With just a little more effort at lunch, I could have had 5 FV each.

“Pro-vitamin A carotenoids and vitamins C and E, present in FV, are essential for proper physiological functioning. The importance of vitamin E for maintaining oxidative-antioxidant balance is widely recognized [8,9], but this must be accompanied by vitamin C in order to enhance antioxidant protection [8-10]. Pro-vitamin A carotenoids are present in brightly colored FV; such micronutrients modulate immune system and exert a protective action by reducing LDL-cholesterol oxidation via induction of antioxidant enzymes [10,11]. “  “Association of fruits and vegetables consumption and related-vitamins with inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in prediabetic individuals,” Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2014; 6: 22.

I eat orange peel

I eat an orange every day.  About every third orange, I slice the peel, put it in a small amount of water and zap it in the microwave, drain, and do it again and drain.  Then I soak it in sugar water for a day.  Sometimes I save that water for my tea. I drain the water and sprinkle the peel with sugar and keep it in the frig in a closed container, where I munch a few slices a day for something tangy and sweet (much less sugar than a piece of candy). I used to let the slices dry out and then sugar them, but it didn’t really change the taste.  If I were serving them at a party as sugared orange peels, I’d probably do it the right way.  I don’t think I’ve discovered all the health benefits that this web page reports (lower cholesterol, anti-inflammatory, weight loss), but at least I haven’t had a cold in 18 months, which is pretty unusual for me.  Or it’s a fluke.  Either way,I’ve become rather fond of the peels.  I sometimes chop them (after I’ve prepared them) in small pieces and add to fruit salads.

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/fruit-peel.html

Always read instructions for cleaning the peel.

What's in your frig today?

Food prices are going up and up, but food is still a good buy. You don't need a farmer's market to eat well, although that's wonderful in the summer.

What's in your refrigerator today in fresh fruits and vegetables? Here's my list.

Sweet potatoes, 2 varieties white and orange (yams)
onion white (cut and wrapped for storage),
broccoli
cauliflower
3 kinds of sweet bell peppers, red, yellow, green
carrots
baby spinach
turnip greens
head lettuce
celery

apples
cranberries
Tomatoes
orange juice
tomato juice
apple cider
dried prunes

In the freezer I have corn, beans and peas.

Potatoes, dried things that don't need refrigeration like raisins, are in the cupboard, not the frig, and bananas are on the counter top.

But I read every label. I try to buy only from the USA or Canada. I like to keep white grapes on hand, but haven't found the right label lately. Occasionally Philippines and Costa Rica, which I'm hoping come under some sort of scrutiny through their political relationship with the USA. Yesterday, the peppers sign said "Canadian grown" but at least one batch had Mexico labels.